Skipping the Boost Ball: Vent Shaft

Vent Shaft is a giant half-pipe in the Phazon Mines that is passed on the way to the Power Bomb
upgrade and again on the way out of the mines. Here's how to escape on the way out without using
the Boost Ball upgrade.

As you enter the room, the first thing you should do is get rid of the gas.
After that, morph into a ball and roll to the far side of the room. Line
yourself up so that you are directly in the middle of the half-pipe and against
the lip that leads to the Energy Tank. Now, the fun starts.

Bomb 1
This one's easy. Lay this one down right where you sit.

Bomb 2
As soon as you lay it down, move in an arc up the side of the
half-pipe closest to the exit. Try not to be moving up the half-pipe
at an angle. After you start to slide down, you'll notice that you'll
suddenly grab on and shoot back up the half-pipe. Practice this a few
tries until you can pull it off. Once you have a feel for the timing,
you'll need to lay bomb 2 down right before you start to move back up.
Don't do it too soon, though. It should be slightly less than
half-way between the two extremes. The exact placement will make or
break the whole bomb jump (bomb 4 mainly).

Bomb 3
After you start to come back down from the second boost, place this
one before you reach bomb two. The timing's a little tricky, but
you'll want to place it relatively spaced, but not at the peak of the
boost.

Bomb 4
After the second bomb explodes, it should send you up the half-pipe
(obviously). But, it won't always send you the same height.
Sometimes, it'll send you up just a little, but other times, it'll
send you up quite a bit. I'm not exactly sure what triggers this, but
it has something to do with placement of the second bomb. The lower
it is, the higher up it sends you, ironically enough. But if it's too
low, you won't get enough height in the end. Anyway, place bomb 4
right before the peak of the boost from bomb 2.

Bombs 5 and 6
At this point, it gets rather easy. Place bomb 5 right before
the peak of the boost from bomb 3, and place bomb 6 right
before the peak of the boost from bomb 4. At the peak of the
final boost, morph out. You should get the "front flip" morph
animation. If you get the "stand up" animation, you didn't get
enough height.

You can also place the last two bombs very close together, as shown in the above right video. Some people find this easier than placing them as shown in the above left video.

If you are having a lot of trouble with this method, there is also a Dash Jump method.

This trick can be done without shutting off the gas in the room, i.e. in a Speed Run, as shown below.